Bloody Tapping
by tough critic
Summary: She could be irritable when he provoked her. Or completely tore her heart out. One or the other . . . . . Lily was moved. Completely and utterly stunned
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: if i owned it, you wouldn't be reading it here.

A/N: to the people who read/have been reading my fics, thanks for your feedback, support, and patience for this one. i hope it doesn't disappoint. this is my last generic fluff i think before i focus on "An Almost Love Story"

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"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."

– Herm Albright

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tap 

tap tap tap

tap . . . tap

"Ack! Stop that!"

"whaa?"

James came out of his trance to look at Lily. Only this time, he was actually focusing instead of absentmindedly contemplating her freckles. Unfortunately for James, Lily was fixing a cold stare in his direction.

"Your quill and all that noise is driving me bloody bonkers," she grumbled out.

_Your smile drives me bonkers, especially your lips, when they lift up and . . . _

James stopped himself before he spaced-out again. Setting off Lily Evans was generally not a good idea.

"Sorry." he quipped before looking down at the notes on Charms he was supposed to be reviewing. Lily was really good at Charms. Her hands were so graceful and they would just _twirl and swish and flick . . . kind of like her hair. I really like her hair, the way it's so long and so red. It matches perfectly with her face when she's angry or when she blushes . . . I wish I could make Lily blush, and then make her. . . _

Tap tap

"AHH!"

James jumped out of his chair, startled by the scream. He looked curiously back to Lily to see if she had heard it too, only to find her face the exact shade of red he was just thinking about.

"That. is. _it_! I'm leaving. You can practice your charms alone, I'll be in my dorm, away from you and your . . . your _noises_!" she huffed.

"huh?" James let out, rather stupidly.

Instead of dignifying his lack of understanding with a response, Lily merely narrowed her eyes at James before storming out the library, leaving him behind.

Now, it was a generally accepted fact around Hogwarts that, while James Potter had indeed grown up a bit in the last few months, he was still never seen openly studying in public while not under the influence of the Head Girl and her, shall we say, feminine wiles.

It was this fact, coupled with the thought that Lily Evans, apple of his eye, was currently fleeing his presence, that made James exit the library lucidly. He spotted Lily's red hair whipping around a corner and ran to catch up with her.

Slowing to a brisk walk beside her, James frowned heavily upon realizing that Lily was ignoring him. They walked in silence. Wanting to be alone, Lily kept increasing the speed and length of her strides in an attempt to give James a clue. It was really too bad that James was clueless, and Lily really should have known that by then.

As the unlikely (or 'quite likely, thank you very much,' as James would correct) pair neared the portrait hole, James said reflectively, "Well, look at the bright side."

Lily stopped so abruptly that James had to walk a few steps backward to reach her when he noticed.

"Bright side?!! And _what_ exactly is this oh-so-bright side to your complete and utter moronic behavior?"

"First off, I'm willing to overlook your overreaction to the tapping of a quill." Here, Lily's eyes sent daggers to James. He didn't notice. "Second, this time I didn't do anything bad enough for you to hex me or swear at me profusely before leaving." James looked rather proud of himself at this recent development. Things like that can give any guy hope, you know. Okay, so not so much _any guy _as a specific guy like James that was so pathetically infatuated with Lily Evans.

Meanwhile, Lily just stared, dumbfounded at his sense of accomplishment, as James Potter quirked his lips upwards. If she ignored Potter's general idiocy, she _might_ be willing to admit to an empty room that this _possibly_ made him look something that _might_ resemble endearing.

_Shit_, she thought, and snapped back to attention. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Potter, but I believe a few of the words I used previously included 'you are driving me _bloody_ bonkers. Besides, I swore at you in my mind just now. So that makes two times."

Frustrated that Lily failed to acknowledge his progress, James replied a little too loudly, "No no no. You said the _tapping_ was driving you mad. So, per se, you were swearing at the noise. It's"

"The same."

"--_not _the same--"

"Must you be so irritating?!!" She screamed before taking the few steps to the portrait and disappearing behind it.

James, as usual, followed. However, not being as graceful as Lily, he banged his knee on the way. In the process of hopping on one foot in the common room, he tripped over the rug and ended up on the floor, still clutching his knee.

"Owwww," moaned James. "My knee. Fucking bloody portrait hole . . . _ahhh_ . . . damn rug." He tried to get up from his position on the floor by rolling off his back and onto all fours. "Holy hell, the pain!"

_Poor James, he must really be hurt. I should see if he's okay_.

"Who's swearing now, Potter?" She asked smugly.

_Oops, not quite the sympathetic statement I meant to make. Ah well. _

James was still caught up with the ache in his knee. "C'mon Evans. Help me up?" He gave her puppy dog eyes. "It _hurts_."

"Oh, fine." She grabbed a hold of his forearm and hauled him up, almost falling over in the process. She had to lean forward and hold on to James for a moment to steady herself. Of course, once she found her center of balance, she immediately pushed him away. James looked at floor, embarrassed, and brushed off his pants. As his hand touched his injured knee, he winced .

Lily smirked. "Care to fill me in on the bright side of _this _one?"

"Erm . . . " James rubbed the back of his neck and then ran the same hand through his hair. He looked at the ceiling and then down at floor again. Why was he always so sheepish around Lily? It wasn't as if she didn't anger him, as well. In fact, just the other day, she . . . _made me stay late in library to make a plans for the prefect rounds over the holidays. She was wearing this great shirt, but that doesn't matter. I was late to see Sirius about Remus. Yeah, and her knee touched my leg a few times, and . . . and, yeah. I was mad. _

"Well?" Lily asked impatiently.

"Well, okay. " He began, taking a step towards her and collecting his wits. "You just willingly supplied skin-to-skin contact that lasted more than two seconds. _And_ you clung to my chest for a single, blissful moment. Ravishing beauty that you are, that made for an extremely blinding bright side." He finished with that rogueish grin of his.

Lily stepped back. Whatever nervousness and warmth she felt at his proximity was effectively smothered by his words.

James leaned closer. "I only just wish that those two things happened more often. Maybe then you'd feel this . . . this warm, odd buzzing in your chest the way I do."

_Oh no_. Lily tried to stop him before anything big happened or before she felt that feeling again.

"James . . . "

But he took a step towards her to cover the distance she previously put between them.

"I wish you felt it too, Lily. I really do. Maybe if you did, It wouldn't . . . ache so much. I'd be okay again, you know? " he said desperately.

Lily gasped. _I didn't . . . know. I just wish my stomach would stop tingling. _

"Maybe I'll get better in a little while. I hope so, for your sake as much as mine." James whispered to the floor, though not minding that Lily heard him. He raised his eyes to look at hers, breathing coming in shorter breaths.

Lily's eyes widened as she felt air fan across her nose. _Oh god . . . oh god-oh-god-oh-god-oh-god-oh--_

She closed her eyes. Then, she felt . . .

she felt . . .

. . . the tip of James' quill tap her nose. She blinked her eyes open to see James Potter's back as he walked, or limped rather, up the stairs to his dorm.

"_Bloody tapping_," she sighed aloud and promptly sat down on the floor to collect herself.

James, upon reaching the top of his staircase, turned around to look at Lily. He had almost lost all self control. He knew Lily wouldn't have appreciated that, though.

But when he saw her mouth something to herself on the floor, he grinned a wide grin. _Oh yeah, she wants me now._

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A/N: Don't hate me. any kind of review is welcome 


	2. Chapter 2

Charms.

Easily Lily's best subject. Unfortunately, her uncanny efficiency in said subject also made the lectures the most painful to sit through. She slumped down in her chair, letting her head hit the desk and her hair fall around her blank parchment. She was only a little ashamed that she was setting a bad example as Head Girl. After all, there were only seventh years in this class, and none of them were taking any notice of her at the moment.

In fact, the only people that would never let her live this down happened to be James Potter and Sirius Black . . . And by the looks of it, they were less than alert themselves.

At this thought, Lily glanced over at James. He wasn't sleeping just yet, but his eyes were glazed over and there were signs of drool on his chin. She almost smirked at the sight. _Almost_. Instead, she checked the time, saw that she had forty minutes to kill before lunch, and prepared herself for a good nap. Until...

Tap.

_Tap, tap, tap_

Lily's head shot up, looking for the source of that infuriating sound.

_Of course_, she thought when she saw James Potter's foot languidly tapping the leg of his desk. Staring at the offending leg, Lily was reminded of the previous week in the library and the subsequent scene in the common room. Though she thought it odd that James had left her alone since then, she was grateful that he seemed to be mature and had pretended to forget. Really, she was perfectly grateful. . . And she _didn't_ spend time wondering what exactly he meant...

Another_ 'tap... tap, tap_' interrupted her thoughts. Fed up, Lily tore her parchment in half, crumpled up one piece into a ball, and launched it at Potter's head.

It hit him square in the back of his neck. She saw James wince. She smiled. He just turned around, looked at her, and raised his brow. When Lily shrugged back, James returned his head to the top of his desk and resumed his gentle, now melancholy tapping.

_Damn him. _

At the end of class, Lily packed up her quills and the half-parchment of notes she managed to take before getting distracted by James. She couldn't help feeling a little resentment at his tapping interrupting her best class. It really was irrelevant that she was planning to nap, anyways. After all, he managed to ruin those plans as well.

Lost in her thoughts of how to exact revenge, Lily almost missed James' call of "Evans?"

She turned around and waited for him to catch up. _Only because I intend on politely requesting him to cease his tapping before I am forced to carry out my plans_, Lily told herself.

He slowed to walk beside her. "Oi, Evans, about that spell--"

Before she could help herself, she said, "Stop it, James."

"Huh?" James looked confused, "I just..."

"Stop calling me Evans. We should be friends, and my friends call me Lily." There, she could be a good, kind, patient person. She could be civil towards James Potter. She didn't have to be irritable all the time. She also didn't have to think about where those words were coming from . . .

But James stopped dead in his tracks. Lily turned around to look at him with a self-satisfied smirk on her face, thinking her offer of friendship had just blown him away.

"That's just it, _Evans_. I don't want to be your friend." Her smile dropped like a stone.

. . . But she could be irritable when he provoked her. Or completely tore her heart out. One or the other.

Lily snapped. "_Holy MERLIN_, Potter! Just _where _do you think you get off, toying with--"

To get her to stop yelling, James grabbed her elbow and yanked her to him with such force that she fell upon his chest again. He then held her other wrist to stop her from pushing away this time.

He whispered so painfully and with such heart, "I don't want to _be your friend_, Lily. I just want to _be with you_. Please."

James closed his eyes and touched his forehead to Lily's. "I keep trying to be your friend. I promise I'm trying, believe me." He opened his eyes and looked at her. Straight at her, and so intensely that Lily had to lean away a little.

"I know I probably seem like a two-headed freak, but all this trying is driving me crazy. Sitting next to you in the library, trying to concentrate on my books. Keeping my head down in class, trying to catch glimpses of you from the corner of my eye. Patrolling corridors with you, trying not to brush your hand or your shoulder." He took a deep breath, released Lily, and looked at the floor. "Seeing you all the time and . . . " James looked at her again, as if he couldn't help himself, "--and trying to forget how close we are to--I don't know--_something_."

Lily was moved. Completely and utterly stunned.

James gave a shaky smile and a little chuckle. "You make me so nervous, I think I've even developed a habit of tapping things around you."

And that was it for Lily. She let out a laugh that was anxious, nervous, and joyful at the same time. Stepping forward, she placed her arms around James and pressed her face into his neck. James tensed, and relaxed after a moment, holding Lily firmly and gently. She heard him exhale slowly and felt his lips move into a smile against her hair.

"Thank you," Lily said into his neck.

"Why?" whispered James.

"For trying . . . but I don't think you have to anymore."

With those final words, Lily tapped his nose with the tip of her finger and smiled before she let James kiss her.

James could hardly grasp what was happening as he pressed his lips to Lily's for a short while before aching for more. Lily seemed to sense this and broke away, then leaned in for more, mouth slightly open and fingers sliding into soft black hair.

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**A/N: i've recieved so much support and reviews that I decided write this in honor of all who have been kind.**

**I do realize however, that what I am most proud of in my original chapter (that Lily and James have a romantic, humorous, and realistic interaction without having to kiss), has not been repeated in this chapter. But that's only because I'm a big softie and had to write the kiss in for myself. It wasn't planned.**

**I also know that this is not written as well as the first. In my defense: In the middle of writing, I realized I have a paper due tomorrow on which I really must get started.**


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